


The Sun Shines

by yangji



Series: Some Birds Aren't Meant to Be Caged [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, FF import, nejihina - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 12:18:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20275801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yangji/pseuds/yangji
Summary: though she is considerate, he never expected her to love him.





	The Sun Shines

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Солнце светит](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071666) by [Furimmer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Furimmer/pseuds/Furimmer)

> Originally Written: January 8th, 2010  
Inspired By: Clair de Lune by Debussy

He walks into the silent house after a week away with the expectations of it being empty; his cousin, his wife, appointed to him by her father, should be watching her younger sister train, should be in the garden catching cherry blossoms between words. The fact that she is expecting him is off putting, but then, Neji realizes, Hinata never does what he expects of her. Though she is timid, he never thought she would hold her own as long as she did in the Chuunin exams; though she is fainthearted, he did not think she would honor the demands of the Council by marrying him; though she is considerate, he never expected her to love him.

Though he was married to Hinata, Neji had yet to truly know her.

The foyer opens into the living room where the couch and table are pushed to the wall and the drapes are open, allowing rays of sun through the wall of glass that displays the tiny backyard. She is sitting on a mat in the middle of the room, back drawn up straight, her legs tucked beneath her, meditating as he taught her. She is wearing enough to cover herself but little enough to keep her cool in the direct sunlight. Her palms are pressed to each other in front of her chest as though in prayer and her breathing is so controlled that it is hard to tell if she is truly Hinata or a statue of a woman in reverie.

Neji has always admired the free form of light, but as it caresses her alabaster skin, it pales in comparison. Lost in its brightness are the soft bruises beneath her eyes due to restless nights, scars from past battles, nicks from idle clumsiness. The shadows of her collar, her fingers, her wrists are deep beneath the protrusion of bone and Neji is afraid to call her name, to touch her or she may crumble into fine sand beneath the slightest brush of his fingers and the weight of his voice. Her hair gleams blue around her face, the color jumping from her head like a halo and he wonders absently why she had kept it hidden from him until now.

He breathes again and she knows he’s there. Her eyelashes, resting solemnly upon her cheeks, thick and made of down feathers, draw open as she turns her head towards him. In the sun, her eyes are truly white, pure and limitless.

And then she smiles.

* * *

That night, while they are lying down to sleep, which Hinata quickly does, he studies her form in the darkness. There’s no need for Byakugan; she’s caught the sun in her skin and that light is seeping out of her to illuminate the room. He can trace the training scars on her arm, the strands of her hair mingling with his, the tear stains on her cheek with his eyes or the reverent touch of his hands.

And when he accidentally, or purposefully, strokes her cheek with the callous of his thumb, her heavy lids struggle open; she blindingly finds his forehead to trace the outline of the missing seal. He pulls her closer to bask in her radiating heat, to keep her as near to his heart as he can.

And against the crook of his neck, she smiles and the sun shines.


End file.
